The Pumas They had almost no time to celebrate a triumph that went down in the history books. After the 29-28 victory against South Africa at the Madre de Ciudades in Santiago del Estero, the team took a flight to reach Ezeiza and from there connect directly with Nelspruit on a charter shared with the team themselves. Springboks. Of course, there are not enough days and almost no minutes either, given that the last date of the Rugby Championship will take place on Saturday. And it will not be just another match, since Argentina can become champion for the first time in the tournament that brings together the best in the Southern Hemisphere.
In that sense, Felipe Contepomi He delivered the list of 28 players who got on the plane. With the forced withdrawal of Marcos Kremera fundamental pillar in terms of defense (the best tackler on the team), the national head coach named 16 forwards and 12 backs for his expedition through African lands.
The 28 summoned of Los Pumas vs. South Africa
Forwards
Backs
How do Los Pumas become champions of the Rugby Championship?
After the epic victory this Saturday in Santiago del Estero over the South Africans, current two-time world champions, Felipe Contepomi’s team has hopes of being the winner of the tournament that brings together the four powers of the Southern Hemisphere for the first time in history.
What should happen? They must win as visitors – something they already achieved in 2015, in Durban, in one of the four victories in history. But they must do so under two conditions.
There is no choice but to take out the calculator to understand the accounts. With this Saturday’s victory, Argentina reached 14 points and was second in the standings behind South Africa, which has 19 points.
As things stand, Los Pumas are forced to beat the two-time world champions at home. But not everything is so linear. There are two asterisks. They have to win with a bonus point – that is, score four or more tries – and prevent their rival from adding a defensive bonus point – that is, the margin of defeat is greater than seven points.
In this way, the two selected teams will be tied on 19 points and the balance will lean towards Argentina. The thing is that in the fine print of the regulations it is specified that the second tie-breaking criterion – in case of equality of points and victories – is the result of the series. And in this case, it would be a historic and overwhelming 2-0 for the light blue and white.
This is the Rugby Championship table
When is the next Los Pumas game?
Argentina’s next match will be on Saturday, September 28 against South Africa, the tournament leader, in Nelspruit. The Springboks, the last world champions, kept a large part of the starting squad in their country so that they could have more rest and could prepare for the closing of the competition.